Malaysia–Thailand border

Malaysia–Thailand border
The border wall between Malaysia and Thailand near Padang Besar checkpoint.
Characteristics
Entities Malaysia  Thailand
Length595 kilometres
History
Established10 March 1909
Current shape1909
Treaties  Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909

The Malaysia–Thailand border divides the sovereign states of Malaysia and Thailand and consists of a land boundary running for 595 km (370 mi) across the Malay Peninsula and maritime boundaries in the Straits of Malacca and the Gulf of Thailand/South China Sea. The Golok River forms the easternmost 95 km stretch of the land border.

The land border is based on the 1909 treaty between Thailand (then known as Siam), and the British which had started to exert its influence over the northern Malay states of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu in the early 20th century, states which were previously under Siamese control. Currently, the bilateral border passes through four Malaysian states (Kedah, Kelantan, Perak, and Perlis) and four Thai provinces (Narathiwat, Satun, Songkhla, and Yala).

Malaysia and Thailand have territorial sea and continental shelf boundary agreements for the Straits of Malacca which were signed in 1979 and 1971, respectively. The 1979 agreement also included Indonesia as a signatory as it also determined the common continental shelf border tripoint for the three countries. The 1979 agreement also established the territorial sea boundary in the Gulf of Thailand while a separate memorandum of understanding signed in 1979 established a short continental shelf boundary in the area. The boundary beyond that agreed is subject to dispute because of overlapping claims over the seabed. The overlapping claims led to the establishment of a joint development area in 1990 where both countries agreed to share mineral resources in a 7,250 square km wedge-shaped area.